Pat Murphy is heading into another Dodgers-Brewers showdown with a noticeably different edge than the one he carried into last year’s National League Championship Series.
The Milwaukee manager, who rarely shies away from a strong opinion, sounded more measured this week as the rematch approaches after last year’s four-game sweep by Los Angeles. Murphy didn’t guarantee a turnaround, but he made it clear he expects his club to be better prepared.
“We’re gonna be more ready than we were last time, I believe," Murphy said earlier this week. "That doesn’t guarantee anything but we got to be ready for what they say is the best team in baseball, but we think we are. We’re going to do our best to stay with them and beat them in seven games.”
That’s a far cry from the “Average Joes” tone Murphy embraced a year ago. Milwaukee tried to lean into an underdog identity then, but the Dodgers quickly crushed that storyline by rolling through the series. The Brewers scored one run in each game, even with home-field advantage, and Los Angeles won in four while putting up 15 total runs.
The Dodgers’ offense wasn’t what buried Milwaukee. Instead, it was Los Angeles’ pitching that smothered the Brewers’ style.
Milwaukee wants to manufacture runs the hard way - get people on, move them over, and cash them in - but the Dodgers repeatedly shut down the final step. The Brewers still play with that same approach, and they remain outside the top 10 in power with a .403 mark.
That makes pitching the real center of this rematch, just like it was last October. Milwaukee has been dealing in the postseason so far, allowing seven earned runs over 35 innings in its NLDS win over the San Diego Padres. The Dodgers have matched that level in their own run, giving up eight earned runs across 36 innings.
Both clubs will get the chance to reset their rotations before Game 1 on Sunday, and neither side looks like an easy out. A repeat sweep would be a stretch this time, at least on paper. The Brewers are legitimate, and their 103-win season says as much.
Still, the noise around payroll and small-market labels figures to be quieter this time around. Murphy doesn’t seem interested in going down that road again, and after last year’s result, it’s easy to see why. Once the game starts, the talking points disappear anyway.
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